This is probably one of the most perfectly produced records of the '60s. It builds from a rather simple low energy tune to a more complex and interesting composition. Of course, having a wonderful talent such as the lovely Beverly Bivens and her dynamic range made this record outstanding. She should have been a big star. New listeners should listen to their other LP cuts.
Happy Birthday Bev Bivens born on April 28, 1946. She was lead singer of the American West Coast folk rock group We Five from 1965 to 1967. We Five's first single, from their debut album of the same name, was a reworked version of Sylvia Tyson's song "You Were On My Mind". It became one of the first folk-rock hits, reaching number three in the Billboard "Hot 100" in August 1965. - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Bivens
Bev has a voice in a thousand. And I, personally, found her lusciously gorgeous back then (I wasn't alone). But to see this song at it's *very* best, bring up the RU-vid "Live on Hollywood Palace" clip. It actually IS live - mikes, guitars, the works. She is also at her sexiest in that one - live performing is what lit her up like a firecracker.
Read the new book, _Wounds to Bind_, for a lot of insight into this song and the band, and the whole era and scene. In an intro to the book, Sylvia Tyson writes that she first wrote the song & sent it to their publisher in 1962, but they didn't register the song (or Ian's "Four Strong Winds") until 1964, when their 2nd & 3rd LPs appeared from Vanguard.
In the summer of 1965 I had been kicked out of college and was killing time until I would be ordered into the military. During that summer I spent a lot of time in my drop top Chevy in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was my last summer as a boy and during that summer this song was popular. Today, whenever I hear it, I harken back to the summer of 1965 and smile. On August 25th my summer ended.
@@arturovaldes546 I didn't have a choice, I was kicked out of college with a 1.94 GPA. I did however return to college and Law School after the Navy, so all was not lost.
Was 15 when this came out & it's still floating around in side my head..... You were blessed to see Ian & Sylvia Tyson..... Four Strong Winds still stands the test of time...
My late friend, Bob Jones from Maui is one of the 4 guitar players and he was the first We Five to plug-in and play electric. RIP Bob who died of cancer a couple of years ago & we were fellow DJ's on Maui's Manao Radio.
Such a great song. So moving. It is the iconic leading edge sound of electric folk. There's no other song like it really for rocking a melancholy reflection.
I hung out at Michael's (the short guy with glasses) studio called Morning Star in 1992 as he supervised my friend's demo recording. Her band was extremely '60's sounding with chimey Rickenbackers and three part female harmonies. He also died way too young.
I remember listening to this on Chicago's AM pop/rock station(WLS 890) in July and August of 1965. It was during summer vacation, after I had finished 8th grade, and I was really getting into the exploding music scene then. I had just picked up an old, cheap 6-string acoustic guitar and was trying to teach myself to play the hits of the day that I was hearing on the radio. My ultimate dream was to someday get an electric guitar and amp and really rock out.
I was in either kindergarten or 1st grade depending on when this song came out in the year, and I remembered that I always wanted to look like her. I had the dark hair and my mom was always cutting it into unflattering looks, so I said I wanted my hair like the girl singer from We Five. I didn't know her name. My Mom said no. I remember thinking that when I got older, I wanted to look and have hair just like hers. Well, when I did get older, I went with the long, waist length hair instead. I forgot all about Beverly and wanting to look just like her. Now that I'm older and seeing her hairdo, I'm in the mood to cut it like hers, but, now that I'm not cute and perky anymore, it might not look so good. LOL! Maybe I will cut my hair like hers anyway. I'm always looking for a new and different way to wear my hair.
On this day in 1965 {September 18th} the We Five performed "You Were On My Mind" on the ABC-TV program 'Shindig!'. Two months earlier on July 24th it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; eventually it peaked at #3 & spent 15 weeks on the Top 100 chart. A year later Crispian St. Peters covered it; his version reached #2 in the UK & #36 on the Hot 100. We Five co-founder Mike Stewart passed away on November 13th, 2002 at age 57. R.I.P Mr. Stewart and Jimmy O'Neil {Shindig's host, 1940 - 2013}
On one of these clips, they are being introduced by Fred Astaire, one of the very best dancers of all time. ( Fred was so good, he didn't have to introduce any "maybes" at all. ) You knew if Fred introduced you, you had something.
The overdubbing is forgiven since it was lip-synched originally. The electric guitars are not plugged in. Apparently this was the first song Sylvia ever wrote. A great start and she`s written some other super songs. This was a good cover, as was Serena Ryder`s and check out the Oh Susanah and Jim Cuddy cover of this song.
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Szd_59l9qkg.html Here's Serena Ryder's version of a different 60's song in case people haven't heard it.
Thank you so much for uploading this much better version of this groups hit song. Brings back so, so many good memories for me. I love this very brief period of folk-rock in the mid 60's; so sad it never returned. Thanks again!
+davecar5860 I have always liked it. I suspect she thought about it when the Beatles arrived 2 years earlier. Lots of girls had it back then. I was 16 when the song came out. I dated a few girls that had the style
Maybe you're like me : It was 50 plus years ago, I was 17, and thought there would always be music like this. Now I have to go back about 40 years to find any good music. Makes me wonder what happened ?
Seems like only yesterday doesn't it? I always have to ask where does the time go but I get know answer just a tick of the clock. We were so innocent. To bad we didn't realize what we had.
Hola amigos del mundo you tube..Excelentes composiciones, voces y arreglos musicales, que hoy en dia probemente existen, bendito youtube ya que nos hacen recordar y vivir nuevamente melodias que marcaron en nuestras vidas momentos y pensamientos que jamas podran ser igualados en esta epoca actual.
There are several period videos of We Five doing this song, and they look like a basket of kittens in each of them. Lead singer is adorable. For a song about separation and loss, You Were On My Mind is very uplifting - it's about will, and the power to change. All in all, a classic I loved when I first heard it in 1965 and I was in the first grade.
I heard it in the '60's of course, but didn't really take to it. Maybe I had to grow up a bit to enjoy it? But when the song was played constantly on LA oldies stations...that's when it stuck out. KRTH 101 played the shit out of it, and I always cranked the sound when that blessed 2 minutes was happening.
